One of the most civilized things to come out of Ireland is Barry’s Tea. Funny that Thomas Cahill didn’t mention this in his book How the Irish Saved Civilization. He talks about the monks laboriously copying old Greek and Latin writings, preserving the ideas of great minds like Aristotle for future generations. However, a good …
Month: June 2010
Tea-for-Two Sets
Just as tea-for-one sets provide a cozy tea moment, tea-for-two sets provide that coziness for you and a special someone. Thank goodness there are some really, really cute tea-for-two sets out there. Tea-for-two sets generally are a small teapot, two cups (or two mugs) and a matching tray to set them all on. They make …
Traditional Yerba Mate Drinking: Curing the Gourd
Once upon a time Americans would not have had ready access to yerba mate, nor would they have known what to do with it if they had. But let's clarify that statement a bit, as it refers specifically to North Americans. In South America, yerba mate has long been a favorite beverage, to the point …
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The Advantages of Blended Teas
Tea blends — they’re everywhere these days. Go online and you’ll see dozens of small tea “boutiques” selling their latest tea blends. Some are fairly normal sounding, such as a special citrus and green tea blend, while others are exotic, like a tea blend with a root beer float taste. There are hundreds of different …
Water vs. Tea
By now most of you tea lovers must surely be aware of the fact that tea is the second most popular beverage in the world (or at least this is what we've been told). At the top of this particular heap, of course, is good old-fashioned water. Putting aside for now the fact that tea …
Unsweetened Iced Tea — Bucking a Southern Tradition
Drinking my chilled (iced) tea unsweetened is truly bucking a Southern tradition. In the Southeast U.S., “sweet tea” is not only a true tradition but almost a right of passage. First, what is this “sweet tea” everyone around here raves about? Pretty obvious, really. It’s chilled (iced) tea with lots of sugar, at least that’s …
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Gongfu Cha
With the ever-increasing interest in premium tea these days there has also been an increase of interest in the preparation style called gongfu or gongfu cha. This method of tea preparation has been well established for many centuries in China, where it originated. In recent years gongfu cha has become more popular with tea enthusiasts …
Putting the Squeeze on Tea Bags
Let’s have a quick show of hands from all of you who use teabags. Don’t be shy. There’s no cause for embarrassment here. The question being addressed is “to squeeze or not to squeeze” — and we’re not talking about oranges. Do you squeeze out every drop of liquid from your teabags? If you answered …
Review — Harney & Sons Yellow & Blue
Name: Yellow & Blue Brand: Harney & Sons Type: Herbal Tisane Form: Silken pyramid sachets/teabags Review: Yellow & Blue is, as its name suggests, is a tisane (aka "herbal tea") composed of chamomile, cornflowers and lavender. The blend is a beautiful one, as the blue/violet hues of the lavender and cornflower provide a wonderful contrast …
Is Tea Good For You?
I’m sorry if I’m the one who had to break this to you, but tea is apparently not perfect. Amid the seemingly endless flurry of reports on the many positive health benefits that we can realize from drinking tea, you'll occasionally run across one or two not so good reports. For instance, it's said that …
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